This invention relates to conformal load carrying pallets for aircraft and includes means to integrate pallets into the aircraft in a unique manner.
The importance of expanding the load carrying abilities of aircraft with minimum penalty on performance and least call for structural modifications is greater than ever. More and more, air travel and use of aircraft to move loads great distances is assuming greater significance. The ability to utilize existing capital investments in existing aircraft to carry large loads on an "as needed" basis requires lower capital expenditure since larger or new aircraft need not be procured to handle specific load requirements.
The payload in commercial aircraft is important, and having the means to expand payload carrying capability on an as needed basis is very important, especially if it can be done at little penalty to the performance and operating costs of the aircraft. In military aircraft, the need to have maneuverability and speed is of great importance, so the aircraft is kept as small as possible. Of course, external fuel tanks for military and other aircraft have long been the standard way to carry fuel for extended flight range. The standard external tanks normally result in significantly increased drag and significant changes in the stability characteristics and are dropped prior to entering combat because of the speed and maneuverability penalties. This results in a logistics problem and added operating expense.
The principal object of this invention is to provide a unique method of increasing the load carrying versatility of a basic aircraft at known stations along the fuselage a known cross sectional area by forming a pair of load carrying pallets to fit the adjacent wing and fuselage surfaces, and blending the cross sectional areas of the pallets with the aircraft cross section areas at each known station so that the source of interference drag is substantially eliminated and stability and control characteristics of the basic aircraft are not materially changed.
It is also an object to avoid the necessity to jettison the pallets by making them an integral but removable component of a basic aircraft.